This invention generally relates to a tool for, and a method of, installing a metal stud wall system, especially a deflection wall system that permits relative vertical movement between upright metal studs and a metal track secured to a ceiling or overhead framework for an upper floor.
Building construction framing increasingly uses galvanized steel in installing wall systems due to the increased strength and termite resistance of steel compared to wood. In a typical non-load bearing wall installation, an elongated, metal, channel-shaped, bottom track is secured to a floor, an elongated, metal, channel-shaped, top track is secured to a ceiling or overhead framework for an upper floor, and multiple spaced-apart upright metal studs are fixedly secured at their opposite ends to the top and bottom tracks. The studs provide a support structure onto which gypsum wallboards, i.e., drywall, panels, or other wall surface materials can be installed to form a closed wall structure. The studs often include lateral bores or cutouts through which electrical, plumbing, or other conduits can be routed.
To counter bowing, settling and/or cracking of the wall structure arising from overhead loads or other movement of the ceiling or overhead framework being applied to the non-load bearing studs, deflection wall systems have been used to permit relative vertical movement between the studs and the top track. In one such known deflection system, an upper top track is attached to the overhead framework, and a lower top track is nested within the upper track and is attached to the studs. A gap between the two nested top tracks permits vertical movement of the upper track without corresponding movement of the lower track. In another such known deflection system, the top track is connected to each stud by means of a fastener that extends through, and is movable along, a vertical slot to permit the relative vertical movement between the studs and the top track.
As advantageous as these known deflection systems have been, the use and installation of two tracks and the advance manufacture of customized tracks are costly not only in terms of component costs, but also in terms of time and labor. It would be desirable to provide a tool that can readily and easily convert a standard track for use in such a metal stud wall system, as well as a method of quickly and inexpensively installing such a metal stud wall system, especially a deflection wall system.